Taconic Accident archived

Do you mean the accident on the Taconic a week or so ago?

what happened?

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/driver-in-crash-that-killed-8-was-drunk-officials-say/?hp

Oh, god. That's horrible. I didn't want to believe it when it was just the Daily News talking about the "death driver" and Fox News reporting it, but now the news is spreading. Apparently it's true.

How does a woman get behind the wheel with children in the car if she's been drinking AND is stoned? And how did her husband LET her?? Tragic that her brother and the police couldn't reach her in time to save those kids and the people in the other vehicle.

Did I read correctly that they're now treating it as a homicide?

yes TL

Oh, that's HORRIBLE! I didn't think that story could get more tragic, but it just did. AWFUL!

Now that I am sure of what I heard I cannot stop my tears................

When I read about this tragedy a few days ago, it was reported that she had called her brother a half-hour before the accident to tell him that she was having trouble seeing. Whether she was on something or just not feeling well she was an idiot for continuing to drive. Just tragic.

I didn't realize everyone died in the car that hit her.

she hit them.

yeah, good point.

Posted By: gonetsWhether she was on something or just not feeling well she was an idiot for continuing to drive.

It seems as if she was too far gone to realize what she was doing. Her brother tried to get her to stay there, tried to get her to tell him where she was, notified the police to go look for her, but her judgment was completely shot, and she kept driving. That's something none of those families will ever be able to forget. :cry:

Is double the leagal amount of alcohol and smoking pot enough to have made her make so many poor decisions? In my past experiences I would think not......do you think it was intentional? Two miles is a long way to drive and not recognize your incapacities....... I am sooo baffled by this tragic incident.

Corey

please change the title to read taconic, not tatonic, corey.

Thank you Oldstone

Beyond horrendous! My heart aches for the family left behind. Now they have to deal with anger at her, along with the grief and agony of losing so many. Her brother and husband must be going mad.

"State Police first learned the toxicology results last Friday, but decided not to reveal the information until the victims were buried." -- Daily News

What is really sick is it says she had the alcohol level equivalent to TEN drinks in her system. I had no idea that much alcohol would only be double the legal limit. I thought about two glasses of wine would put me at the limit and that is generally all I drink when I am out, and I wouldn't drive then.

Who the heck has that much alcohol by 1:30 on a Sunday, or ever!? What kind of idiot was she that she took her children and her nieces in the car? It is too sad to even comprehend!

This was the LAST thing I expected to hear come out of this investigation. How the hell do you drive in that condition with FIVE children in the car?! That's so far beyond "impaired judgment." I almost wish she had survived just so she had to face her husband after killing their daughter and — even more so — her brother after killing ALL of his children.

This entire story is simply tragic.

I choose to believe that she was on a prescribed medication that wildly interacted with modest alcohol consumption simply because I can not stand the thought that someone would wake up, have 10 drinks on a Sunday and then drive the wrong way with 5 children in the car.

This really makes me wonder what on earth happened during their camping trip that she was drinking like that when she left the campground to drive all those kids home. It just doesn't add up. No one has said anything that suggests the woman was an alcoholic or that the couple was a pair of raving lunatics who might do something this stupid. I just don't get it, it's SO far over the edge of reason.

And why did she throw her phone out of the car?

It's the strangest, saddest, most infuriating story I've heard in ages.

Where did you read they were camping? I am trying to somehow grip what happened but it's a losing battle. There is no answer.

When I heard about this last week, I thought the woman had to have been aiming to commit suicide. Maybe she did, and got good and stoned in order to get up the nerve. I thought she may have intended to kill the children to punish the husband and brother somehow.

Whatever the explanation, it's a tragedy beyond all comprehension.

Posted By: canismajorWhen I heard about this last week, I thought the woman had to have been aiming to commit suicide. Maybe she did, and got good and stoned in order to get up the nerve. I thought she may have intended to kill the children to punish the husband and sister somehow.

I, too, thought there was something more to this story.
it is very hard to enter a highway going the wrong way unless you are severely impaired or it is intentional or maybe both.

truly disturbing.

Posted By: shhWhere did you read they were camping?

I am fairly sure I read that in the first stories, but now I'll have to go back and check...

I heard on the news there was a broken vodka bottle found in the wreakage - if she was drinking vodka that could get her plenty drunk in a short amount of time.

I usually don't follow rubber-necking types of stories, but this one was so horrendous, so many children died, and so many survivors have had their lives exploded senselessly by this person's decision to drive while majorly messed up on purpose.

I don't think anyone will ever understand what motivated her to drive a minivan full of kids while she was drunk and stoned.

Knowing what the cause of the accident was makes it even more perplexing IMO.

I was going to say "what type of mother....? Etc" But what person of any type gets on the highway with that much impairment?

I don't think you need even double the legal limit for your judgement to be impaired as well as your reactions. And anyone who is drunk is in no position to judge themselves in any area; unless they can see that they can't walk the straight line that the police officer points out, they usually think they're doing just fine.

That's why in many states the legal limit has been lowered from .10 to .08.

There are stages of drinking. The first stage is when you actually can legally drive but you may be sufficiently paranoid that you won't. In the second stage, you are drunk and know it and may still make the right decision to not drive. The third stage is when you are drunk and have absolutely no judgement left. I think twice the legal limit would qualify.

In any case, if this woman had some underlying issues such a depression or something, then we are engaging in the always strange process of wondering why a person with a mental illness acted irrationally.

i can't believe this. how horrific. it's too bad she died as well. i feel for the husband because people will somehow blame him for this.